Lee Speaks on Energy Talent Depletion at Shanghai Forum

Executive Education Director of Energy William B. Lee, Ph.D., recently spoke before several hundred professionals in academia, government, and industry at the Shanghai Forum 2008 at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. Multiple forums were held on a variety of subjects emphasizing economics and energy.

In Lee’s presentation entitled “Energy: the Global Search for Oil and Gas — and for Qualified People,” he introduced the current energy situation, especially for oil and gas, in the world. He reviewed the factors of high oil prices and emphasized the talent depletion issue, the lack of skilled and experienced people in the industry. He said “talent void” and the “great crew change” have become daily terms in describing such issues in the industry. Companies have been taking measures to keep their talented people and have become more creative in devising solutions to the problems inherent in the lack of skilled and experienced people in the industry, he said.

Reporters from Russia, Spain, and China, as well as other attendees from Sweden, India, and the UK participated in the Q&A session.

As the former associate dean for Executive Education for six years, Lee managed Rice’s open-enrollment and custom-designed Executive Education programs, attracting corporate clients from around the world. He added two industry-focused certificate programs: “Certificate of Management in Energy” and “Certificate in Medical and Healthcare Management.” Additionally, he was instrumental in developing key partnerships with global firms including Fulbright & Jaworski, Ernst & Young, and British Petroleum.

He previously served a term on the board of directors of UNICON (International University Consortium for Executive Education), which includes the top 75 global providers of executive education. Currently, he is on the board of directors and chair of the compensation committee of Freeman Companies, a company headquartered in Dallas with revenues of more than $2 billion.